America's Most and Least Attractive People 2010

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Where do you find the
best-looking people in America? According to our America’s Favorite Cities
survey, head for the sunshine.

What makes the people of one
city so good-looking and the folks elsewhere…well, not so much? Do some cities
become magnets for the Greek god and goddess types, or does the mere act of
living in a certain area actually have a transformative effect?

Kristina Levya, a real estate
agent in San Diego, has seen this “transformative” phenomenon at work. In her
SoCal hometown, she says, “people tend to spend a lot of time outdoors being
active, so there are loads of healthy, sun-kissed types here.” In the last
place she lived, Miami, there were perhaps more social forces at work (not to
mention a laissez-faire attitude toward, um, surgical enhancements). “There’s
also a big love of fashion,” she says, “a vibe of ‘don't leave home without
your stilettos and Gucci bag.’ ”

Whatever the reasons, Travel
+ Leisure readers agree. In this year’s America’s Favorite Cities survey,
voters told us that good weather and great shopping go hand-in-hand with
attractiveness. San Diego and Miami, for example, did well in all three
categories, ending up among the top five cities to find America’s most attractive
people.

America’s Favorite Cities is an
annual survey at T+L, where readers rate 35 cities for travel-friendly features
such as hotels, restaurants, and airports—as well as essentials like pizza,
skylines, cleanliness, and yes, the locals themselves. This year, we’ve
expanded the survey to include seven new cities, some of which made a solid
showing in the good-looks category, like Savannah, which finished at No. 3.
Anchorage, however—perhaps a victim of all those layers of clothing—came in
near the bottom, at No. 32.

When we highlighted the top 10
and bottom 10, a few themes emerged. Cities that lend themselves to rigorous
activity—whether it’s skiing near Denver (No. 9) or anything under the sun in
Honolulu (No. 6)—also tend to produce more comely locals. Cities where one has
to bundle up typically fared worse: Portland, ME, joined Anchorage in the
bottom five.

Lest anyone think that the
readers are just shallow, it’s worth noting that AFC readers also seem to
subscribe to the adage of Pretty Is As Pretty Does. New York and Los
Angeles—which would seem to attract the lookers, and have all the luxury retail
to suit them up well—rank 13th and 14th respectively in
the attractiveness category. Perhaps that’s because they also score low in friendliness.

Boston is slightly more affable, according to AFC voters, but
ranks even worse in looks, sitting at No. 25. And for whatever reason, weather
is only partially to blame. Just ask those who know the city well. “Boston
is a sea of North Face fleeces and UGG boots,” says Tony Prado of the Los
Angeles public relations firm Lobeline. Paula Franklin, of New York public
relations firm Geoffrey Weill, chalks up Beantown’s poor showing to a lack of
creativity: “They all seem to have the same haircut.”

Read on to see who captured the
No. 1 spots for most and least attractive people in this year’s America’s
Favorite Cities survey!

America's Most and Least Attractive People 2010

Where do you find the
best-looking people in America? According to our America’s Favorite Cities
survey, head for the sunshine.

What makes the people of one
city so good-looking and the folks elsewhere…well, not so much? Do some cities
become magnets for the Greek god and goddess types, or does the mere act of
living in a certain area actually have a transformative effect?

Kristina Levya, a real estate
agent in San Diego, has seen this “transformative” phenomenon at work. In her
SoCal hometown, she says, “people tend to spend a lot of time outdoors being
active, so there are loads of healthy, sun-kissed types here.” In the last
place she lived, Miami, there were perhaps more social forces at work (not to
mention a laissez-faire attitude toward, um, surgical enhancements). “There’s
also a big love of fashion,” she says, “a vibe of ‘don't leave home without
your stilettos and Gucci bag.’ ”

Whatever the reasons, Travel
+ Leisure readers agree. In this year’s America’s Favorite Cities survey,
voters told us that good weather and great shopping go hand-in-hand with
attractiveness. San Diego and Miami, for example, did well in all three
categories, ending up among the top five cities to find America’s most attractive
people.

America’s Favorite Cities is an
annual survey at T+L, where readers rate 35 cities for travel-friendly features
such as hotels, restaurants, and airports—as well as essentials like pizza,
skylines, cleanliness, and yes, the locals themselves. This year, we’ve
expanded the survey to include seven new cities, some of which made a solid
showing in the good-looks category, like Savannah, which finished at No. 3.
Anchorage, however—perhaps a victim of all those layers of clothing—came in
near the bottom, at No. 32.

When we highlighted the top 10
and bottom 10, a few themes emerged. Cities that lend themselves to rigorous
activity—whether it’s skiing near Denver (No. 9) or anything under the sun in
Honolulu (No. 6)—also tend to produce more comely locals. Cities where one has
to bundle up typically fared worse: Portland, ME, joined Anchorage in the
bottom five.

Lest anyone think that the
readers are just shallow, it’s worth noting that AFC readers also seem to
subscribe to the adage of Pretty Is As Pretty Does. New York and Los
Angeles—which would seem to attract the lookers, and have all the luxury retail
to suit them up well—rank 13th and 14th respectively in
the attractiveness category. Perhaps that’s because they also score low in friendliness.

Boston is slightly more affable, according to AFC voters, but
ranks even worse in looks, sitting at No. 25. And for whatever reason, weather
is only partially to blame. Just ask those who know the city well. “Boston
is a sea of North Face fleeces and UGG boots,” says Tony Prado of the Los
Angeles public relations firm Lobeline. Paula Franklin, of New York public
relations firm Geoffrey Weill, chalks up Beantown’s poor showing to a lack of
creativity: “They all seem to have the same haircut.”

Read on to see who captured the
No. 1 spots for most and least attractive people in this year’s America’s
Favorite Cities survey!